Nintendo of America has confirmed that threat actors stole data from TinyPulse, a third-party platform used for internal employee surveys, but said its own systems were not compromised.
The company stated that after the Shadowbyt3$ extortion group claimed it had stolen sensitive information related to Nintendo employees.
According to Nintendo, the incident only involved a limited amount of internal survey data affecting a small group of employees. The company said most of the exposed information dates back several years and emphasized that no customer information, financial data, or Nintendo systems were accessed.
TinyPulse is an employee engagement platform that helps companies collect anonymous feedback, conduct surveys, and analyze workplace culture. Nintendo said it is working with the service provider to investigate and address the issue.
The Shadowbyt3$ group claims it stole nearly 1GB of data and demanded a $2 million ransom. The threat actor alleges the stolen files include employee names, email addresses, survey responses, analytics data, bank statements, W-9 forms, employee IDs, progress plans, and reports dating from 2016 to 2026.
In a follow-up message, the group stated that the breach does not impact Nintendo gaming services or customers and only affects a limited number of employees who used TinyPulse.
The threat actor later published what it claimed were samples of leaked employee communications, suggesting Nintendo did not pay the ransom demand. However, the authenticity of the leaked data has not been independently verified.
Shadowbyt3$ describes itself as an “extortion-as-a-service” operation that has been active since October 2025. The group claims it permanently deletes stolen data after receiving payment, although cybersecurity experts and law enforcement agencies warn there is no guarantee stolen information will be removed or not sold to others.
Nintendo customers do not need to take any action, as the company says no customer accounts or personal information were affected by the incident.
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Nintendo Confirms Employee Survey Data Stolen in TinyPulse Breach
